Our Greatest Adventure: A 15 day wedding/honeymoon extravaganza!

[goodmorningirl]

We made our way behind the scenes and pulled up in back of The Living Seas/Seas with Nemo and Friends and came through by the gift shop there. We were quickly ushered passed the front of the Seas and toward the Coral Reef.


We were brought into our private room, The Living Seas Salon for our brunch. Our guests were already inside and our guides asked if we’d like to just sit down and have a soda before entering. I jumped at the chance for a little down time and that’s what we did. It was so nice to just chill for a moment before joining the party, but we were soon starving and ready for some food!

We had such yummy food including our favorite, Tonga Toast! Everyone RAVED about it and they even made a gluten free version for our celiac friends and they said it was one of the best things they’ve eaten!



We made little Swedish Fish gift bags with Nemo stickers.


We also had our card suitcase displayed along with our own Adventure book and notes for people to write their next destination idea for us. I also had pictures of us from a little Up inspired picture session and the wedding pictures of our parents, my grandparents, and a couple who are like my second parents.



The one whole wall was into the aquarium and it was so nice and calm. I wish we had more pictures, but unfortunately our photographer wasn’t feeling well. I forgot to mention that 15 minutes before the ceremony, he actually passed out a bit from the heat. Cory’s dad is a doctor and made sure he was okay, but that means we didn’t get a ton in here.


Before leaving, I made sure to get a Must Have picture and I love it.


And now some family pictures we took on the grass outside the Coral Reef.

My parents on the left and Cory’s on the right.


Our brothers. Mine is the one in the blue shirt, Cory’s are the other three.


And our very good friends, including our officiant and maid of honor.


Us.


And my first Cinderella moment of the day.


Brunch went so fast, and before we knew it, it was ready for our break. After brunch we returned to our hotel by limo and went back to the room to do all the necessary signing of documents. A picture to show proof lol


Then we had a few hours to just relax before it was time for the reception.


I had to get another with my bouquet.


We then changed, me into my Bride shirt, and went to the Club Level area where we just ate snacks and chilled out.


We had a good nap to get all rested up before the fun night that was ahead.

 

[alievans719]

Your wedding looks sooo amazing, I'm drooling. Also, your wedding dress is the dream one I've always imagined; you look absolutely gorgeous in it! Congratulations!!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

You had such an amazing wedding! I never imagined that there could be a wedding ceremony in Epcot. What a perfect place for it. This must have been before the World Showcase opened. I guess waking up at 3am was worth it.

 

[debelfish]

I wanted to tell how absolutely beautiful your wedding was and that the pictures are amazing. I keep showing them to my husband and daughter. Thank you so much for sharing your wedding with us. Best of luck in the future for the both of you.
Elizabeth

 

[Teresa Pitman]

That Coral Reef brunch looks fantastic! I saw that you were taken there by limo, but I wondered if your guests walked through the park to get there? I'm assuming the park was open while this was all going on, or was it early in the day before opening?

Such a beautiful wedding! You will always have these wonderful memories.

TP

 

[jessicalynn88]

I love this, everything is so beautiful! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[goodmorningirl]

alievans719: You’re so sweet! Thank you!

Wood Nymph: Thank you! Epcot actually has a ton of venues, pretty much anywhere in World Showcase. The kicker is that your ceremony has to be at 9am lol

Debelfish: Hi Elizabeth. You are so kind. I’m so happy that you enjoyed our wedding and photos and that you shared them. I so appreciate your warm wishes.

Teresa Pitman: Hi Teresa. All of our guests and bridal party were also taken behind the scenes by motor coach (Disney’s term for ‘bus’). It’s actually required, though I don’t think anyone was complaining! Lol And thank you!

jessicalynn88: Thank you so much!

I feel like I keep saying thank you, but seriously, thank you everyone who is reading, and especially to those of you who have made such wonderful, sweet comments. I truly appreciate it and I’m so happy our wedding could bring you guys such joy!

Finally, finally, another update!

Our reception was at 7pm at the Atlantic Dance Hall on the Boardwalk. My bridesmaid and best friend, Kelsey, is a hair stylist. I wanted her to do my hair for everything, but she only agreed to the Dessert Party and Reception lol She said she was too nervous for the wedding.

We got changed into our clothes, Cory the same as before, and me into new shoes and a new dress. It was really important to me that I had a shorter dress to dance in because let me tell you, and you will soon see, we like to boogie! I also wanted to match a look of a more art deco theme like the Atlantic Dance Hall.

I was super happy to find this dress reduced at David’s Bridal and I almost made my goal of getting both of my dress for $1000, it ended up being about $1,150. I was lucky when it came to sales for both of them.

Anyway, Kelsey did my hair and it was time to head over, but not before some pictures on the Boardwalk. Now, again, our photographer was feeling ill, so we don’t have a ton, but here are some of my favorites.

By our little cottage.


It was sprinkling a bit on our way over, but stopped quickly.




Our Up balloons.


And then to Sea Breeze Point.



One of my favorites.





At close to 7pm, we wrapped up the pictures and headed down to the venue. It was almost time for our dance party to begin!

 

[goodmorningirl]

There was a sign outside the hall that displayed our reception information, along with security/Disney personnel to make sure no non-guests entered.



They put our names up on the display board.


And then we went into the entrance area. Everyone was already inside and we talked to our DJ for a bit about the very extensive list I sent. At this time, Jamie, our planner, also went and got us each a signature drink, The Spirit of Adventure, or a Blue Hawaiian. I was getting so excited to just get inside and eat and party!

We had circle tables on the dance floor with black tablecloths, gray runner, and Chiavari chairs.


Our table names were different locations around the world according to old postcards. We even found an old Epcot Japan postcard that we had for our table. For the name plates, we had them attached to soda bottles along with their table name.


Our centerpieces were three glow gel jars.


The soda bottles and straws.


And the very yummy Spirit of Adventure which was definitely bluer in person.


Our favor was a carnival themed candy bar.


Our card-suitcase.


I have no pictures of food really, as our photographer was still a bit sick, but it was SO good! It actually tasted as amazing as it did at the tasting. Here is a picture of the late-night snack we had which was made to order guacamole.

 

[goodmorningirl]

We didn’t have a cocktail hour, we wanted an extra hour of dancing, and we didn’t get announced, so once we came in and sat down, the DJ announced the speeches would begin.

First up was my maid-of-honor, Rachel. Rachel’s mom babysat me since I was only 6 months old, so we became a family and she’s really like my sister. Her speech was very sweet and definitely made me cry a bit though it had some funny bits about growing up.



Next was Cory’s best man who was his older brother, Ryan. I was a bit nervous for this one. Not only was his speech funny, but was a bit embarrassing too lol But it was also really sweet and he did such a great job.



Last but certainly not least, in an outfit change also, was my Dad’s welcome/thank you speech.


It was hilarious.



He made a joke about hearing Cory’s dad was a brain surgeon and then seeing him and thinking he was a plumber. Lol


And then he got all sweet and sappy and started to cry, ending his speech early which obviously made me cry.



Cory’s dad even came up to tell him how great he thought it was.


Then, people got started eating. There was a picture though I HAD to have, so we set out with our photographer to catch it.

Pure love.

 

[goodmorningirl]

Hi everyone! Please keep on saying hello and commenting. I love hearing what you all have to say.

Our goal for the reception was to just have one big, dance party and I'll let the pictures do the talking...





Our Dads.





A favorite


We had a dance off including moves from Bridesmaids and Starsky and Hutch

 

[goodmorningirl]

 

[goodmorningirl]

 

[goodmorningirl]

At the end of the AMAZING reception, the bridal party decided to all end the night by jumping into the Boardwalk's pool, so that's what we did! (Please note: The boys had to return their suits in the morning to Men's Wearhouse which is why they went sans suits lol)


It was such an awesome and perfect ending to the most magical day of our lives.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Wow! The photos of the two of you in front of the Boardwalk sign are perfect. Just gorgeous.

Sounds like the speeches were a good mix of funny and touching. Exactly what you want at a wedding, right?

And THAT was a dance party! Everyone looks like they were having so much fun.

I can't believe how many different venues around WDW you included in this wedding event. You guys will have "magical memories" everywhere you go in the parks and resorts! (Well, almost anyway!)

Just a beautiful wedding, all of it!

I am heading down to WDW tomorrow (not to get married, though!!!) and I know when I see the Japan pavilion I'll be thinking "Sam and Cory got married there" and I'll be remembering your dance party reception when we walk along the Boardwalk!

Teresa

 

[goodmorningirl]

Hi Teresa! Thank you again for your kind words.

We had an absolute blast and people are still talking about how fun our wedding was which is a definite win.

It's true. It is so nice to go back into Epcot and have a drink sitting in front of the pagoda, just soaking it all in that we actually got married there.

Aw, I love it! I hope you have a BLAST in Disney! I'm counting down the days until Feb. 27 when we go back.

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

What an amazing wedding you both had!! Disney weddings are the best!!
I loved all the little surprises you had for your husband! So adorable!
I especially loved the dance party! And the last photo of you all jumping in the swimming pool, such a unique idea!

 

[goodmorningirl]

I_Luv_Stitch: Thanks so much! I really wanted to do special things for him since I know the wedding day can get all wrapped up around the bride.

We actually got nervous because after jumping in the pool, we noticed a cast member talking to my Mom. We thought we were all in trouble, but he had just heard the commotion and wanted to see what was happening. He loved the idea! Lol

After our wedding, we slept in, probably until around 11. We didn’t get back to the room until late and the previous day was extremely busy, so there was no rush.

We were however planning on meeting anyone who wanted to join us to drink around the world. We decided to meet around 1pm in Mexico to start our journey. I should say that we really wanted to drink/snack around the world, to be fair.

We also brought our photographer along for this little event, so the following pictures are mostly his. This is what it looked like when we started. Not too promising.



But our first destination was inside, at La Cava. I love margaritas and this
was a great place to get everyone rounded up together.


Mexico.


Then we headed to Norway, land of trolls and angry Vikings.


The group decided to hit up Maelstrom so we waited maybe 15 minutes and hopped on.


When we came out of the ride, it looked like this. Downpour.


Cory’s dad ran out into the rain with this little kid.


And we got our shot of potato vodka and stood under the overhang.


It’s definitely not delicious.


Cory and Craig got Schoolbread, I believe.


Sorry, China. Save for the picture, we basically passed you up.

 

[mindylee847]

Just amazing!! I'm so jealous of your wonderful Disney wedding! We had our own version here at home - but we should definitely renew our vows there. All of your pics are fab. Can't wait to see more!

 

[goodmorningirl]

Mindylee847: Thank you! You should absolutely renew your vows there! Everything Disney does is phenomenal and we were not disappointed.

It was then on to Germany where most of us grabbed a beer, a grapefruit beer for me, which was interesting.


Then to Italy. I believe this was a kir? Something delicious and sparkler at any rate.


And then it was back to Japan! It was so cool to walk up to the pagoda the next day after getting married there.


Our photographer wanted to re-enact what happened the previous day when he passed out with just a few minutes to spare before our ceremony lol


And then the beautiful Morocco. Love it.


My best friend and I. We’ve known each other since we were both about 6 months old.


Next was France where I ended up with two drinks…


A lot of people broke up at this point, we continued into the UK where I had two Pimm’s Cups which are delicious. And then the sky looked like this again.


We ran over to our dinner at San Angel Inn to try and beat the rain and ended up eating with my cousin and his wife which was really nice. We headed back and packed because we were moving hotels the next afternoon. We got to sleep pretty early. Tomorrow was an early start with a very fun event, but we had to be there by 5:30!

 

[Lady Marie]

This sounds so awesome! I loved all the pictures of everyone dancing. You can tell everyone was having a WONDERFUL time!

And HOW AWESOME is that pic of everyone jumping into the pool!!! Such a fun ending! LOL!